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Statement from the ECPR on the recent situation in Russia

One of ECPR’s member institutions in the Russian Federation, the Department of Political Science and Sociology in the European University of St. Petersburg (EUSP), is currently at risk. Following a political complaint, the Ministry of Education’s inspectorate, Rosobrnadzor, has repeatedly claimed to have found violations of administrative regulations, including too low a percentage of faculty whose primary occupation is practical work in the field in which they teach – both in political science and sociology. Meanwhile, unsubstantiated allegations about the university’s working against Russian interests and use of foreign funding have appeared on the internet. On December 7, the authorities suspended EUSP’s license. This decision was itself suspended by a court decision, but a new court judgement is due on 11 January 2017.

The European Consortium for Political Research is devoted to the academic study of political processes. This implies that ECPR as such does not intervene in political disputes, but also that it must speak out whenever the academic freedom of ECPR member institutions and their affiliates is at risk. ECPR calls on the Russian educational authorities to allow the EUSP and its faculty to pursue their scholarly work without interference, and to work with the EUSP’s staff to resolve any real administrative impediments.

03 January 2017
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